There are two Seattle’s Best Coffees in Orange County which are just must-visit gems. They’re lovely stores, with friendly employees, and you’ll get a fantastic beverage. Interestingly, both are operated by the same franchise owner.
I’d previously found a rather ordinary Seattle’s Best Coffee in Garden Grove (also Orange County, California), and so it made it all the more delightful to find the two gems of stores – one in Irvine, and the other in Lake Forest.
The first amazing Seattle’s Best Coffee was in Irvine, at Culver and Walnut:
Seattle’s Best Coffee – Irvine location
14450 Culver Drive, Suite D
Irvine, California 92604
(949) 653 – 0828
When I walked into this store, the first thing that struck me was that they’re using a La Marzocco espresso machine for their espresso beverages! Of course, I immediately asked about. I met some amazingly enthusiastic baristas who said that this Seattle’s Best franchise has been operating since the 1990s. When the franchise owner originally opened up this SBC franchise, the La Marzocco was standard, and at this point, they’re “grandfathered” in to have this machine. New Seattle’s Best Coffee franchises must have standard SBC-issued equipment, meaning automatic espresso machines.
Here’s the La Marzocco:
Isn’t that a thing of beauty? By the way, my latte came with a heart on it – no lid, and latte art. I talked briefly to one barista who was heading out the door, who said she’d been at this store for seven years. This franchisee must really know what he is doing!
This store was fairly busy, but just so you know, there is both indoor and outdoor seating, Seattle’s Best Coffee for at-home use available to purchase, merchandise, and some nice goodies in the pastry case.
Just a few more pictures of this great store – I hope you get a chance to visit!
The second amazing store was the Lake Forest, California Seattle’s Best Coffee:
Seattle’s Best Coffee
22621 Lake Forest Drive (Lake Forest Drive & Muirlands Drive)
Lake Forest, California
(949) 830 – 5282
This is a fairly new store. I found an online site which indicated the grand opening was May 1, 2012, for this Lake Forest Seattle’s Best Coffee. As I already mentioned, both of these locations are operated by was franchisee. I met the store manager, Jennifer, who definitely loved her store, and readily answered my questions. It’s a cute location, with plenty of indoor and outdoor seating. I noticed some really delicious looking treats in the pastry case, and Jennifer opined that her store had a special arrangement to get some special bakery goodies in. My carrot cake and coffee were delicious. Take a look at this store!
Hope you enjoyed these store reviews. 🙂
If you happen to be in Orange County, be sure to visit these!
(Please take a minute to “like” my Seattle’s Best Coffee blog too!)
Say “hello” to Seattle’s Best in Lake Forest:
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What? No picture of your latte art? I don’t know why I’m so fascinated by that. I have no understanding of how difficult it is to do so I always assume it’s super-duper-complicated and am thus thoroughly impressed. Love the bowling alley reclaimed wood!
Oh, meant to post that comment about the bowling alley wood on the next post, duh!
Random comment here, but decor-wise, I think Seattle’s Best Coffee would be better matched inside Targets instead of Starbucks. 😀
That’s so cool I wonder If a SBUX partner (me) could cover a shift there. I haven’t been on a La Marzocco espresso machine in nine years. I would hope it would be like a riding a bike, Once you can make a perfect Latte on it you could do it again. @Kristina I agree, if they isolated the Seattle’s Best division of Starbucks to just our Licensed Concepts (store within a store Hotels, Supermarkets, Airports, Barns & Nobel and Macy’s) it might reduce the consumer confusion of why a supermarket or Target Latte and employee (they are Baristas but NOT Partners) don’t always provide a Starbucks experience. Plus most aren’t as busy though the manual machines might be too tough to work if you’re in high volume Target store. Plus your arms get tired really fast.